How I fought and won a battle against a dreaded algal bloom
A couple of months ago, I was very pleased when a friend commented on how clear my aquaponics tank was. And so it was, until about a week later, when I saw the first signs of green beginning to appear. A few days later the water was solid green and my fish were only visible when they surfaced to eat. Now he was in a full-scale battle against an algae bloom.
In nature, algae play a very important role. But in my fish tank, in addition to being unsightly, they can cause problems such as consuming oxygen and causing large changes in the pH of the water. Neither of these are good for my fish.
There are several things you could have done to combat algae. The first, of course, was trying to prevent it in the first place. This particular tank is in my yard and although partially shaded, it was in full sun for a couple of hours a day. So I put a beach umbrella for more shade. I also reduced the amount of food that I was feeding the fish.
Another weapon he could use would be an algaecide. Many people have used it successfully. Others, however, end up without algae or fish. He was not willing to take that risk.
Water changes are also recommended, but I was trying to build up nitrates and nutrients and didn’t want to dilute my tank with a big water change. I decided not to change the water.
My next option was to install a UV sterilizer. I had one installed for my saltwater fish tank for which I paid several hundred dollars. It had a powerful UV light that was designed not so much to kill algae, which it did, but to kill nasty creatures in the water that could make my fish sick. I didn’t need such a powerful or expensive light for my aquaponics tank.
I turned on my computer and went to Amazon to find a UV clarifier that was less powerful and less expensive than my expensive saltwater sterilizer. There is no problem finding one on Amazon that is within my price range.
A few years ago there was a game that people played with the Google search engine. They tried to find a search term that returned only one result. It’s hard to find one, but it can be done. Today, it is difficult to find a term that does not occupy a million pages. Amazon is something like that. Try searching Amazon for a product and see if you can find one that they don’t have.
I selected a clarifier that had good reviews and was affordable. As I am an Amazon Prime member (which I am not), two days later there was a package on my doorstep. I installed the filter right away, which was easy as it had barbs to fit various tube sizes. The instructions said it had an easy to read indicator light so you could see that the unit is working, but I couldn’t really tell if the light was working or not.
After a couple of days, I didn’t see any improvement, and since I wasn’t sure the light would work, I informed Amazon that I would be returning the unit and printed a return label. Amazon has a very liberal return policy. Then I selected another UV filter and waited two days for it to arrive. Like clockwork, it was delivered in two days. The old unit had been installed for those two days since I decided to leave it connected until the new one arrived.
As soon as the new unit arrived, I went to install it. But when I was about to do it, I noticed the water starting to clear. So I left the first filter plugged in and sure enough on the third day my water showed more improvement. The same on the fourth, fifth and sixth day. By day seven, all the algae had disappeared. The filter was working even though I couldn’t tell if the light was on or not.
I kept the second filter as a spare and to use if algae attack another of my tanks. The moral is that you should take steps to prevent algae in the first place and be patient after installing something new. I won a battle against the algae, but the war never ends.
I don’t know if the filter I bought is the best or the least expensive you can find, but it worked for me. If you have algae in any of your fish tanks, you may want to consider installing a UV filter.